


Disney BS

by RoseGold_En



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Andrew doesn't talk too much but he's Andrew so, Andrew is pining so hard that Kevin's sick of it, Borderline crack, Implied/Referenced Abuse, M/M, Multi, Nicky keeps making puns, The cousins bonding very slowly if you squint, There are so many weird references and jokes I'm sorry, mary is alive
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2019-08-02 07:10:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16300436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseGold_En/pseuds/RoseGold_En
Summary: After a strange incident, Andrew, Nicky, and Aaron all turn into mermen whenever they come into contact with water. They also gain powers.Nicky is excited. Aaron never wanted this.Andrew has a problem: He's falling for Neil Josten, who happens to be a swimming junkie.(Kevin's just in the middle of it.)





	1. Beach, Please

**Author's Note:**

> A mermaid AU based off of H2O: Just Add Water. Before anyone decides to try and be a nerd, it's named 'Disney BS' because of Aaron. Chapter one, in which there's a lot of confused yelling and everyone keeps falling down.

“Minyard!”

Aaron kept walking.

“Hey, Minyard!”

He groaned, stopping. He had hoped that the guy would realize he was being ignored, but no such luck. He stomped over to the dock, where the guy was stooped over a motorboat.

“What do you want?” He crossed his arms over his chest.

Aaron didn’t remember his name, but he seemed dickish. He always goofed off in class and liked to play pranks, so obviously, he wasn’t to be trusted.

“I need your help,” ‘Dick’ pleaded, making a pathetic attempt of a pout. Aaron groaned internally.

“Why do I have to help? I have somewhere to be.” Actually, he didn’t, but this guy didn’t know that.

“Come on, dude. I don’t know what’s wrong with it. All you have to do is hand me the tools, I promise.”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever.”

The brunet’s lips curled into a secretive smile. “Good. They’re in the boat, can you get them?”

He glared at him shortly before carefully stepping over into the boat and locating the tool box. He had no idea why this dumbass didn’t just get them from the boat and set them on the dock. He grumbled to himself, opening the tool box.

“What do you need?”

“Uh, screwdriver. You know, I couldn’t figure out what’s wrong with it before I realized someone stole my spark plug.”

Aaron grabbed a screwdriver, standing back up. “Does it work without one?”

He was about to hand it over when Dick placed his foot on the side of the boat and pushed it away. Aaron stumbled as it started moving away from the dock. The asshole had un-tethered the motorboat while he was distracted. _God, he hated high school_.

“Nope!” Dick continued to laugh while Aaron struggled not to fall into the water. But looking around, he’d have no other choice but to swim back to land. “I was getting sick of that old thing, anyway. You can have it.”

“What the fuck!” Aaron sputtered a string of curses, reluctantly sitting down to fume. His only options were to float out to sea or swim back to the docks. He wasn’t looking forward to walking home in soaking clothes. He pulled out his phone and began thumbing through his contacts, brainstorming on who’d be useful to call in this situation.

He was too busy searching to notice someone running down the dock. He shouted in alarm as the person jumped into the motorboat. His eyes snapped up, only to land on his own mirror image. Where there was anger on Aaron’s face, there was a blank slate on his twin’s.

“Damn it, Andrew!” He spat out, standing up. “Where the hell did you come from?”

Aaron had only known Andrew for four years now and had been living with him for two. Teetering on the edge of three years, he still wasn’t used to having a brother. Andrew ignored his spiel, digging into his pocket. Aaron’s eyes widened in recognition when he brandished a small object.

“The spark plug? _You_ took it!” Andrew stooped down, ignoring his accusation. He had a lollipop poking out between his downturned lips. One thing that Aaron had learned about his twin was that he didn’t talk very much or bother to respond to his anger. He fiddled around, putting the spark plug back into place. There was a deep rumble as he started the engine. “Shit. How’d you do that?”

“Hold tight.” Aaron blinked but hesitantly sat beside Andrew as he pulled back a lever. The boat pushed forward, propelling smoothly through the water. Andrew turned the wheel, curving in a new direction. The asshole was still perched on the dock, his laughter quickly fading out as his jaw dropped. Aaron couldn’t help but feel a smug sense of satisfaction at his bewilderment, especially when his twin angled the boat so he was sprayed with water.

Who was going to have to walk home soaking wet now? He allowed himself a small smirk as they drove away from the dock, the wind gliding through his hair.

He had to wonder where Andrew learned to drive a motorboat, didn’t you have to have some sort of license for that? Andrew steered them around in silence for a few minutes until Aaron recognized Nicky above them, walking.

“Nicky!” Aaron called, curious of what he was up to. Their cousin looked around in confusion, trying to figure out who was calling him. “Down here!”

After the third try, Nicky finally looked down at the water. His eyes widened, his mouth forming an ‘o’. Andrew didn’t look towards Nicky, merely angling his head in his direction before steering to idle by him, stilling in the water. Nicky jogged down a few steps to come down to their level, amazed.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did I miss, why do you guys have a boat?” Nicky inquired, unable to contain his excitement. Aaron shrugged.

“Are you coming or not?” He asked. Nicky whipped his head around, looking for any signs of oncoming danger before stepping forward.

“Are you licensed? Is this legal?”

“Are you my mother?” Andrew shot back, receiving a dirty look from Aaron. Nicky merely grinned, leaping into the boat before he’d be left behind. He settled behind his cousins, looking around as they moved forward again. He chattered animatedly between taking selfies as Andrew drove them around for awhile and Aaron explained how the boat was now rightfully theirs.

“Andrew, Andrew! How far can we go out?” Nicky popped his head between the front two seats, propping his chin in his hands. Andrew spared him a glance in his peripheral, but Aaron noticed the spark of interest that lit in his eyes. He took a turn, heading away from Myrtle Beach and out to sea.

“I don’t think this is a good idea…”

“Shush, Aaron! Try to have a little fun every once in awhile.” Aaron huffed and crossed his arms, slouching down in his seat in a quiet tantrum. He was promptly ignored. Nicky whooped and hooted from the back of the boat, enjoying the ocean spray and the nice breeze that whipped through his hair.

He even recorded a few videos, posting them on his social media. Aaron had to admit, this wasn’t half bad. Maybe next time, they could bring food and drinks. Hanging out with his family wasn’t too bad sometimes.

The sky had started to darken when the engine began to stall. 

* * *

“Nicky, this is your fault! If you hadn’t asked about how far we could go…” Aaron began, the two bickering. When the engine had began sputtering, Andrew had steered them towards a landmass in the distance. It turned out to be an island. The motorboat was now beached in the sand while they tried to figure out a plan so they wouldn’t be stranded.

“I’m not getting any signal.”

“Me either,” Nicky whined. Aaron spared a sideways glimpse at Andrew, who had brandished a cigarette and was calmly smoking.

“I’m not going to ask about _you_ and your _flip phone_. Do you know what year it is?” He was ashamed to be his twin. He turned back to Nicky. “We need to get to higher ground and see if we get a signal.”

“Aw, man. That means walking,” Nicky complained, kicking the sand beneath his feet. He tipped his head back, looking at the thick cluster of trees and land they’d have to climb.

“Do you want to get back home or not?” 

* * *

Half an hour ticked by and they were now deep into greenery.

Aaron had a stick in his hand, batting aside branches and checking for anything that could be hidden. In his other hand, he held his phone and waved it around. “I’m still not getting a signal. Higher.”

“Aaroooon, I’m getting tired. Can we take a break?” Nicky slapped at his arms, grumbling. “Pesky mosquitoes. I know I’m a whole snack, but it’s still pretty damn rude.”

“We’re not stopping. The darker it gets, the more likely we’re going to have to spend the night on this island,” Aaron shot back, knocking aside another branch that nearly swiped his cheek.

“I miss my bed already. I miss human food. Aaron, what are we going to do about food?”

For the first time in nearly an hour, Andrew piped up. “We draw straws to decide which one of us gets eaten first.”

There was a short pause and a gasp. “Aaroooon, Andrew wants to eat us!”

Aaron growled, turning to glare at them. “Both of you, shut up already!”

“Wait, what’s that sound?” Nicky gasped, stopping. He pushed forward, his face lighting up. They were now out of the forest and now standing on giant rocks. There was a whoosh of water streaming down between them. “A waterfall!”

He leapt from rock to rock.

“Nicky, cut it out, you’re going to fa—”

Nicky screamed, slipping down. His body disappeared between two rocks. Aaron paled.

“Nicky!” He hurried over as carefully as he could on the slippery rocks, peering down between them. There was a steep, cave-like entrance. It was too dark for him to see if Nicky was alright.

“Can’t say you didn’t warn him,” Andrew mused, his voice nonchalant. Aaron spun on him, harsh words already on his tongue when his twin pushed past him. He surveyed the hole before calling down. “Nicky, are you alive?”

“Y-Yeah. I’m okay,” Nicky’s voice echoed back. He didn’t sound fatally wounded. Aaron exhaled in relief.

“Do you think you can climb up?” He asked. There was a short minute of silence before Nicky retorted more quietly.

“No... I-I think I hurt my ankle.”

“Are you sure? At least try.” Another pause.

“It’s too steep, Aaron.”

“Damn it,” Aaron hissed. Who knew what was inside of that cave? On a mysterious island that had appeared out of nowhere, bats were the _best_ -case scenario. What if there were cave people or some rabid animal? He was jarred from his thought process as Andrew sat down, scooting forward.

“Well, let’s go.”

“What? What are you—” Aaron started before Andrew glided down like he was on a slide, disappearing into the dark hole. “ _Andrew_!”

He spewed a few more curses, burying his head between his hands. His only options were to follow or wait for them to find a way out. He paced on the rock he was standing on for a minute before sighing. He muttered to himself, mimicking Andrew’s earlier actions and sliding down on the sand, bracing himself for impact. Once he stopped, he opened his eyes and looked around.

Aaron couldn’t make anything out but Andrew and Nicky’s faint silhouettes. He remembered his phone, taking it out of his pocket and turning the screen on. He still didn’t have a signal, but at least he could turn his flashlight feature on. The cave lit up and he saw Nicky huddled against the wall, his arms wrapped around his leg. Andrew was sitting beside him.

“Let me see it,” Aaron beckoned. Nicky nodded as he climbed forward, inspecting the bruising and pressing down on the tender skin. His cousin hissed in pain, but it didn’t seem broken. “It’s just sprained. You’ll be okay. Come on, we have to find a way out.”

He helped Nicky stand, providing a crutch for him. It was strange, seeing as Aaron was nearly a foot shorter than him, but they made it work. Luckily, he didn’t see any impending danger or horrifying creatures occupying the cave.

Nicky limped along without much complaint other than soft ‘ow’s. It was such a stark contrast to his usual behavior when he got injured. If he stubbed his toe or got a paper cut, he would act like he was dying. But when he was actually hurt, he didn’t make too much of a fuss.

“Stairs,” Andrew announced after they had been walking for a few minutes. He nodded towards where a blue glow was flickering and highlighting the wall. He tested the stairs first and checked where they led. He deemed it safe enough, allowing Aaron and Nicky to enter a small room. There was a vibrant pool of water in the center. With a glance upwards, Aaron could see an opening above them. It was now night time, the stars out.

He swallowed at the realization that they had been stuck on this island for hours. What if no one found them? What if no one even looked for them? His mom was dead, Nicky’s parents disowned him and Andrew didn’t allow them to socialize with anyone besides Kevin Day. Aaron couldn’t say he had high hopes in Kevin rescuing them.

“Tidal rings.” He and Nicky looked over to Andrew, who was squatting near the body of water in observation.

“Uh?” Nicky started, confused. Andrew’s eyes flickered towards them in annoyance, continuing.

“It means the level of the pool rises and falls. It’s connected to the ocean. I’ll see if there’s a way out.” He removed his socks and shoes before dipping his feet into the water. He hid a shiver at the temperature. He hated the cold. He dropped down into the water, making a ripple. The two watched as he dived down, swimming under the wall.

Nicky made a nervous whimper, Aaron helping him shift until they were both sitting down on the hard rock. They waited and waited for Andrew to return, the shaking of Nicky’s leg increasing with each second. His nerves finally got to him when they reached the one-minute mark. “Andrew? Andrew!”

“Nicky! He’s only been gone for a minute, calm down,” Aaron hushed, frustration written on his face.

Nicky chatted a lot in general, but when he was nervous, he began rambling more and talking faster than usual. “We don’t know what’s on the other side, Aaron! What if something got him? There could be sharks or—”

A blonde head popped out of the water, Andrew’s hazel eyes trailing to them as he took in deep breaths. He swam closer to them. “It’s a twenty second swim to the other side. I was right.”

“Andrew! You’re okay.” His cousin sighed in relief, a bit of color returning to his face. He placed a hand on his chest, smiling.

“What’s out there?” Aaron asked, narrowing his eyes.

“A reef. We can all fit,” his twin answered. Aaron sighed and looked down at his dry clothes before looking at Nicky.

“Do you think you can swim?”

Nicky wiggled his foot, wincing a bit but nodding. “Yeah, I think so. It’s not like there’s any other way out, right?”

Right. It was either swim out or stay stuck in this cave for the rest of their lives. Aaron began untying his shoes and sliding his feet out, peeling off his socks. They were going to be useless after this, unless he wanted his shoes falling to the bottom of the pool. Walking in wet socks was the worst. Nicky followed his example, scooting to the edge of the rock and dipping his feet in.

“Oooh.” Aaron followed suit, both of them exchanging a look before slipping into the water. There was a splash and then the fluorescent water around them began bubbling once they surfaced.

“What the hell?” Aaron shot an alarmed look towards both of them. Nicky looked just as bewildered while Andrew’s head tipped back. His eyes followed a flurry of bubbles that ascended in the air, floating towards the top of the cave and out of the opening. The moon was clear above them, blanketing them in a soft light. It looked almost magical.

“What’s going on? Guys, this is kind of scary,” Nicky said, his brown eyes darting between them and the strange water. Andrew ultimately deemed the phenomenon uninteresting and spun around. He dived under. Aaron took a deep breath, mimicking him and opening his eyes under the stinging saltwater. The bright glow of the water helped a lot. He ducked his head, swimming under the wall and making sure Nicky followed after him.

The reef was beautiful.

They surfaced twenty seconds later, to Andrew’s word. They took long gasps of air. It was evidently late at night, judging by the blackness around them. Aaron began to speak when a bright light assaulted their eyes, drawing a curse out of him. There was a whoop of a siren.

“Please make your way to the boarding ladder at the rear of the vessel.” Once Aaron got past the fact that they were momentarily blinded, he felt relief as they swam towards the boat. They were rescued. He and Andrew let Nicky go first, making sure he could climb before his twin shoved him into going next. Aaron glared at him before taking one last look at the mysterious island.

It was gone.

Aaron started before shaking his head and wrapping his fingers around the rungs of the ladder. He climbed up, sighing as a towel was wrapped around him and he joined Nicky. 

* * *

“Let’s agree to never do that again,” Nicky breathed once they were safe in their house again. He was still shivering from the chilling water, rubbing his arms. He fiddled with the thermostat, turning the heat on. Aaron was still toweling his hair while Andrew went towards his room.

“Agreed,” Aaron mumbled.

“I call first shower!” Nicky chirped before dashing down the hall to grab his shower essentials. Aaron rolled his eyes, letting him. They took turns showering, banging on the door when one took too long in the hot water. Afterwards, when they were snuggled in blankets in front of a heater with hot cocoa and Nicky was stupidly ruffling his hair, Aaron thought _maybe_ everything was okay. 

* * *

Sadly, the next day was a school day and Nicky wasn’t allowing them to skip on the account of nearly spending the rest of their lives on a mysterious disappearing island. Which was total bullshit, for the record. Nicky got to stay home today, on account of his ankle, though that didn’t keep him from running around. The twins got ready for school in the morning, getting into Andrew’s car.

The school day passed without much incident. Of course, things had to go to hell afterwards. Andrew blamed it all on _Neil fucking Josten_.

Nicky prided himself on being the ‘gay cousin’, but Andrew was certain he could give him a run for his money.

Ever since he had been released from juvie and moved to South Carolina, his life had never known peace. First, there was Tilda’s heavy-handed abuse. Then, Aaron’s constant resentment towards him (which he did not care for at all).

Third, was the light sand that liked to coat Andrew’s shiny, black car. Being from California, it wasn’t a new sight but he hadn’t had a license nor vehicle then.

His final and utmost problem was _him_. Neil frequented the beach that Andrew often visited and was ruining his life. He was on Kevin’s swim team and neither of them could talk about anything else. Worse, was that they liked to have races in the ocean and Kevin dragged him along.

Andrew was tortured daily by the water that trailed down Neil’s body and those blue, blue eyes. He was the fastest swimmer on the team after Kevin, so of course he took him under his wing.

“You’re going to have a stroke in all that black,” Kevin informed in his know-it-all voice, drying off with his towel. Andrew flipped him off without much thought and heard an offended scoff. His traitorous eyes drifted to Neil, who was toweling off beside Kevin and grinning after their race. Andrew watched water roll down his hips and dip below his waist band.

Fuck. His mouth suddenly felt dry and he had to move his tongue. This was going to be a problem. It _already_ was a problem, especially when his eyes followed the auburn hair of his happy trail. There was a canvas of scars on his body and Andrew wanted to trace them, to hear every story.

“Thirsty?” Andrew’s train of thought derailed and crashed as his eyes darted back to Kevin. He realized that Kevin was addressing Neil and not, in fact, calling Andrew out for being thirsty for his new friend.

(Which he was.)

Neil accepted the water bottle Kevin had gotten from the cooler, uncapping it and tilting his head back as he drank. Andrew watched the bob of his adam’s apple as he drained half of the bottle, panting softly when he finished.

He wiped off his mouth, his eyes finding Andrew’s. Andrew just stared back at him, waiting for him to look away first but he just tilted his head. “Why don’t you swim?”

Kevin scoffed again. “Andrew doesn’t swim anymore. He only does it on his own terms.”

“Not even for fun?” Neil seemed genuinely concerned, like he was wondering how Andrew could possibly live such a way.

“I’m not a swimming junkie like you,” Andrew replied, lifting an eyebrow. Neil blinked before grinning at Andrew and it did not do anything funny to his heart. Kevin looked between them with puzzlement on his face before shaking his head.

“Want to go again?”

“You’re on, Day.” Neil set down his bottle before the two dumped their towels and ran back to the water. Andrew sighed and leaned back on his elbows. After a few minutes of watching Neil and Kevin sabotage each other in the water, he felt parched. Luckily, Kevin always brought a mini cooler of drinks. Andrew walked over and opened the small cooler, digging in the ice and taking out a cold water bottle. He uncapped it, tipping his head back as he gulped down.

It’d be a lot easier to just take a dip with Neil (Oh, Neil) and Kevin, but he refused. Not only was swimming _dumb_ , but he absolutely refused to do the one thing Kevin wanted most.

Andrew Minyard ran on spite alone and it was fun to tell Kevin no.

The blonde ran the cool plastic over his legs, because they were exposed to the sun the most. Kevin’s dumb umbrella didn’t serve its purpose. He was about to take another sip when his legs turned to not quite jelly, but… Liquid. It felt like his entire body was water for a second and then the next, Andrew had face planted into the sand. He pushed up, spitting it out of his mouth.

What the hell just happened?

He attempted to push up onto his knees, but he just flopped back down. Andrew looked over his shoulder, finding instead of his two legs, a _fish tail_. It started from his pale waist, descending into a golden color. His scales glittered in the sunlight, like liquid gold.

“What the fuck.” Andrew flipped over onto his back, sitting up. His face showed something close to shock. His clothes were nowhere to be found. In fact, his upper body was completely shirtless. His armbands were gone, sending a lurch of something near panic through him before settling into apathy.

He experimentally lifted his tail before letting it flop back in the sand. It felt _real_ and no amount of special effects could have made this happen so quickly, especially without him noticing. Andrew reached down, running his fingers over his scales and looking around. There was no one else on the beach besides him, Kevin, Neil and a few other people scattered further down the beach. They couldn’t see him from here.

Andrew drew his hand back, feeling anger because he didn’t _understand_. Fear, because he didn’t know how to undo this. Should he call Nicky? Kevin? He lifted his hand again, going to touch his tail again before clenching his fist in frustration. He didn’t expect to see a cloud of steam rise and disappear into the wind.

Once again, _what the fuck_. He moved his hand over his tail steadily, feeling _heat_ coming from his hand and his scales drying.

Seconds later, his legs were back and he was fully clothed, armbands and all. He sat up, pulling his knees up to himself and wiggling his toes. Frowning, he clenched his fist again and stared at his hand.

“Andrew.” His head snapped up as he saw Kevin approaching him, his hair completely soaked. He leaned down, grabbing his towel. “We’re done.”

“I’ll see you later, Kevin. You too, Andrew.” Andrew arched an eyebrow as Neil glanced at him before turning around and jogging away. He looked back to Kevin, but he was busy picking up the cooler and his towels. Andrew made sure to stay away from them, grabbing the umbrella.

There had to be something in that water... 

* * *

Dinner was very soon and Aaron was in the shower. Nicky was in the kitchen. Andrew had dropped him off before taking Kevin to the beach. For a moment, there were just the sounds of the sink and shower running. Then there was the sound of a shower curtain tearing and a loud thump.

_“Nicky!”_

Nicky flinched, dropping the cup of water he had been sipping. It splashed on the ground, but he was already racing towards the bathroom, where he had heard Aaron call for him. It didn’t sound like his usual anger, but closer to fright.

“Aaron?”

“Nicky, help!” Nicky tried to turn the knob, finding it locked.

“Aaron, you’re going to have to unlock the door.”

“I can’t.”

“Can you move? What happened? Did you fall?”

A few seconds passed, in which Nicky strained to hear Aaron shuffling to the door. There were a few bumps before the door knob rattled. Then a click. Nicky sighed in relief, pushing the door open while Aaron rolled back.

“Are you oka—” Nicky stopped mid-sentence, staring down at his cousin. The shower was still going in the background. The curtain was, in fact, tore down. Aaron was lying on the floor, on his stomach. He seemed fine, excluding the fact that there was a bruise across his back and that his legs were absent. “Aaron… _You have a tail_.”

Instead of legs, there was a long fishtail starting from his waist. His pale skin gave way to golden scales that shone in the bathroom’s lights. They were incredibly pretty. Aaron huffed, his tail lifting and smacking against the tiles. “I noticed.”

“What happened?” Nicky asked cautiously, slowly closing the door and tiptoeing inside.

“I don’t fucking know! One second, I’m stepping into the shower, the next I’m half fish! I tried to grab the curtain when I fell.” He added the last part more quietly, his cheeks flushed.

“Should we call someone?” Nicky suggested hesitantly. Aaron flopped over on his back, pushing up on his elbows.

“No! We’ll figure this out, just… Help me get to my room.” Nicky nodded in determination, stooping down and hooking his arms under Aaron’s underarms. He tried to lift him up, but Aaron was heavier than he expected. He tried again, grunting. He really needed to exercise more.

“Aaron, you have to help me out.”

“I’m trying!” Aaron argued. Somehow, after minutes of maneuvering and upper body strength, Nicky managed to drag his cousin into his room. Aaron could take it from there, hauling himself onto his bed with difficulty and wriggling until he was fully on it. His tail extended longer than his legs, the translucent fins on the tip hanging over the end of the bed.

“So… Now what?” Nicky’s question was answered by his phone suddenly ringing in his back pocket. He pulled it out, seeing Andrew’s name on the screen. He answered, placing it against his ear. “Hi, Andrew. We, uh, have sort of a situation…”

Andrew’s end was silent for a minute before he spoke with suspicion and what was almost hesitance.

“What kind of situation?”

“Let’s just say… A fishy one?”

There was a loud groan from Aaron in the background.

“Let me guess. Aaron’s half fish,” Andrew drawled, unimpressed. Nicky blinked before pulling his phone away from his ear to stare at it. How did he know?

“Um, wow. You’re a great guesser.”

“Nicky.”

“Yes?”

“He needs to get dry again.”

“Wait, how do you—”

“The same happened to me. He’ll go back to normal. I’ll be there soon.” Andrew hung up. Nicky stared at the phone, baffled before turning back to Aaron.

“Apparently, this happened to Andrew too and I need to dry you off?” He shrugged before going to get a towel, beginning the process of drying his tail. Aaron begrudgingly lay still as Nicky began scrubbing at his scales with it.

“Ow! Not so hard!” Aaron yelped, glaring at his older cousin. Nicky squeaked, jerking his hand back with an apologetic look.

“Sorry, sorry! I’ve never… Dried scales before.” He rubbed Aaron’s tail much gentler, patting in certain places. Aaron let his head flop back onto his pillow, sighing heavily and staring at the ceiling. Why did these things happen to him? He was a good person, sometimes.

A few minutes passed before Aaron began to get impatient, his tail flicking in irritation.

“It’s not working! Get a hairdryer or Shamwow or something.”

“Wait, wh— Aaron, oh my God,” Nicky snorted, creasing over as he laughed. Aaron frowned at him and crossed his arms across his bare chest. But hearing Nicky’s chuckles and thinking about the ridiculousness of the situation, he couldn’t help but chuckle too. He saw the way his cousin beamed at him, clearing his throat awkwardly.

“S-So, hair dryer?” Nicky wiped a tear from his eye, nodding.

“I don’t have a Shamwow, but I do have a dryer.” He left the room, returning with a hairdryer in hand. He plugged it in by the bed, turning it on to the highest setting. He made sure not to come too close and burn him. Nicky was sure he was close to getting Aaron dry when they heard the sound of the door being unlocked.

“Andrew?” Nicky called cautiously. He tossed the blanket over Aaron to cover his tail and shuffled to the door. He peeked through the crack and was relieved to see his cousin making his way to the bedroom. “Andrew! Welcome home.”

He moved away from the door as the blonde came in. He surveyed Nicky before looking at his brother. Walking over, he grabbed the cover and flipped it back, taking in Aaron’s tail.

Same color. He held a hand up as Nicky went to turn the dryer on again, his gaze focused. “... Let me try something.”

“Oh?” Nicky sounded intrigued, lowering the dryer.

“Be my guest, the towel method wasn’t working so well,” Aaron griped, rolling his eyes.

“I was trying my best, Aaron!”

Andrew spared Aaron a glance before slowly lifting his hand. He hovered it over Aaron’s tail, not touching it. Slowly, steam started to rise and roll off of his tail. Aaron’s eyes widened as it slowly started to dry, the water evaporating with the slow movement of his brother’s hand. Seconds later, he no longer had a tail and had his legs back.

Whoa.

“Holy shit… _Holy shit_ , Andrew, you have powers!” Nicky bounced in place, cupping his hands over his mouth. Andrew pulled his hand back, staring at his palm. Aaron quickly hid himself under his cover- He _had_ been getting in the shower, so his clothes didn't reappear.

“A-Are you kidding me? Nicky, magic isn’t real, there has to be some explanation!” Aaron argued as he sat up, touching his legs through the fabric. Nicky stopped bouncing for a second to stare at him, Andrew joining in. Aaron shifted uncomfortably, feeling his face flush.

Nicky then gestured to his newly returned legs. “What explanation do you have for this _besides_ magic? Aaron, you and Andrew can turn into _mermaids_!”

“Mer _men_ and no, they _aren’t_ real. Neither are mermaids, okay? This is some _Disney bullshit_!”

“ _Aaron_ , you can’t just— Oh, shit! I forgot to turn the shower off!” Nicky gasped before dashing to the bathroom. “The water bill is going to be so high!”

He burst into the bathroom, rushing to shut off the shower. He pushed down the handle until the spray shut off, sighing in relief, though his arm was now damp.

He began to turn and head back to the room when it felt like his entire body had turned into liquid. Nicky yelped, flailing as his legs turned into a tail, a pretty shade of baby blue. There was once again a loud **thump** as he fell onto his back. Nicky groaned, lifting his head to look at his new, sparkly tail before letting his head thunk softly against the floor again.

. . .

“Someone call Kevin...”


	2. Long Time No Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cousins talk to Kevin. Andrew learns a bit about Neil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To everyone who left a nice comment, we're getting married.  
> All of us.  
> Wedding's Thursday.
> 
> Warnings: Discussion of Neil’s past and possible present-abuse.  
> This went from humor to a sprinkle of angst real quickly.

“My tail is so pretty! Look at it. Even as a merman, I’m hot.”

The light blue complemented Nicky’s darker skin tone. Once the pain receded, he could now properly appreciate his new features. He ‘ooh’ed quietly, telling Andrew not to turn him back just yet. He wanted to admire himself. Andrew entered the bathroom, stepping over Nicky. A ziplock bag was zipped over his arm as he reached into the shower and shut the water off.

“Guys, do you know what this means?” Nicky grinned mischievously, flipping over onto his stomach. “We can give blowjobs underwater! I can finally cross that one off my bucket list.”

Aaron groaned, his nose wrinkled in disgust. He was dressed again, his arms folded across his chest as he lingered in the doorway. He wasn’t even going to  _ask_ why Nicky had that on his bucket list. “I’d rather not. And we don’t even know if we can breathe underwater.”

“Let’s go to the pool then!”

“Chlorine’s bad for you.”

“Well, so is saltwater, Aaron.”

“I… Yeah, but you don’t see fish living in chlorine,” he argued.

“Not  _yet_.” Nicky pointed his finger at him, like he actually had a valid point. If anything, that statement was ominous.

“Jesus fuck,” Aaron whispered. He dipped his hand into his pocket, taking out his phone and reluctantly dialing Kevin’s number. They couldn’t trust anyone else not to say anything if they were the only ones. “When has Kevin ever helped in  _any_ situation….”

“Fuck you, Aaron.”

Oh, he picked up. “Kevin. We’re coming to pick you up.”

There was a brief pause before Kevin responded. “Why? Andrew just dropped me off. What did you do now?”

Of course he would assume something illegal happened. Not that it wasn’t a rational deduction…

“Some weird shit happened and we don’t know what’s going on, so just be ready, okay?” Aaron responded, getting increasingly irritated. There was another short silence before Kevin sighed.

“Fine.”

“Thanks.” Aaron hung up, pocketing his phone again. “Nicky, get off the floor.”

“No, I want to take a bath!”

 

**#**

  
  
Kevin frowned grumpily once he opened the front door. He resembled his father way too much. Andrew leaned inside the door.

“Hey, coach.” Coach Wymack gave a lazy wave from the kitchen door. Kevin’s dad was the coach of a college swim team. Kevin had moved from a fancy private school in Virginia to South Carolina after breaking his leg in a skiing accident. Coach hadn’t known Kevin was his son until two years ago.

“Hi, Andrew,” Abby greeted from the kitchen, poking her head out. She was the coach’s wife and technically Kevin’s stepmother, not-at-all wicked. “Are you joining us for dinner?”

“Maybe later. We’re borrowing Kevin for a bit. You don’t mind that, do you? _I didn’t think you would_.”

“Bye, dad.” Kevin shut the door behind himself, effectively cutting the conversation off before Andrew could invite himself to dinner (again). Abby didn’t mind having the cousins over, but a chatty Andrew was never a good thing. The blond spun on his heels, marching down the porch as he trailed after him. He opened the door to the GS, sliding into the passenger’s seat.

“Okay. What’s so important and weird that Aaron had to call me?” Kevin sighed. Andrew pulled out of the driveway recklessly, nodding over his shoulder to his brother.

“Aaron has something to tell you.”

“Why me? I’m not the only one, Andrew.” He was promptly ignored. The car was silent for an endless minute of cruising before Aaron sighed, long and loud. “For some bullshit reason, we’ve been cursed or something. Me, Andrew and Nicky can now grow… Fish tails. Andrew’s theory is that it happens whenever we touch water. It’s stupid.”

Kevin twisted around in his seat to stare at him before groaning and flicking his eyes to Andrew. “This is what you called me for? I thought it was something serious.”

“I’m being serious, asshole!”

“Yeah, right, Aaron.”

Andrew, the jackass, just snorted instead of helping out. Aaron could see the vague amusement in his eyes through the mirror. He huffed.

“I can prove it!”

“Sure. How much dust did you take? I thought I told you guys not to start without me.”

“We’re not doing dust, Kevin. We need you to be our guinea pig,” Nicky inserted. He leaned forward, propping his elbows on the armrest. Kevin looked offended and a bit horrified.

“I am  _not_  being your guinea pig. And for the record, Aaron, this is not making me believe you.”

Aaron glared at him. “Just wait until we get to the beach. You’ll see when we turn into freaks.”

“Oh, Aaron, you’ve always been a freak,” Andrew commented near gleefully. Aaron flipped him off. Jackass.

“Fine. But I’m only going because I like the beach,” Kevin sniffed pretentiously. Aaron crossed his arms, shifting to stare out of the window for the rest of the ride. The street lights flickered over his face until Andrew pulled into the parking lot of a hotel directly across from the beach. They stepped out as he slung his keys around his index finger, leading them down to the sand.

Kevin began stripping down as they got closer to the water, leaving himself in his trunks. He always wore them under his clothes, like the swimming addict he was. The cousins did the same until they were in their boxers. Their clothes disappeared when they transformed, yes, but they didn’t want to risk their phones or keys not making a reappearance.

None of them were really worried about being spotted since it was well into the night. The only light came from the boulevard and the hotels, soft music pouring from a nearby shop. The first one to step into the water was Nicky. He waded deeper into the water until it came to his waist. He shivered.

“Ooh, cold.” A few seconds later, he gasped as he transformed again. He floated on his back, showcasing his tail with a haughty smile. Kevin went wide eyed as he stared at it. He stumbled back a few steps.

“That’s… That’s not real.”

“Trust me, it’s easier to just accept it. I didn’t believe it either until it happened to me,” Aaron sighed.

“You mean after,” Nicky murmured. He dove under the waves, resurfacing and swimming in circles. He seemed to be having the time of his life. “His own legs disappeared and he still didn’t believe it.”

Kevin turned to Andrew, the saltwater lapping at his ankles. “You’re not really believing this, are you?” 

“Oh, it’s real, Kevin. Not sorry to burst your bubble,” he replied, wiggling his fingers in the air. When it happened to him, Andrew had briefly thought he had truly gone off his rocker, like everyone around him claimed he already had. The jury was still out, but only time would tell the truth.

Andrew walked into the water until it reached his shoulders. Aaron glanced at Kevin before doing the same. There was a startling flash of gold that Kevin couldn't help but gawk at.

Once submerged in the water, swimming with a tail surprisingly came like second nature. Aaron felt a strong pull, an instinct he had yet to tap into that whispered to him to just  _stay in the water_  and  _never, never leave_...

Kevin sighed, his shoulders slumping. He glanced between them before hesitantly wading into the water. This was the first time in months that Andrew was willingly swimming and he wasn't going to take that for granted. He swam over to them, shuddering as a tail brushed his ankle. The scales felt odd; kind of slimy but smooth.

The cousins stared at him for a few seconds before Nicky looked at Aaron and Andrew in puzzlement.

“I guess it’s just us.” He shrugged.

“Can you explain how the hell…  _This_ happened?” Kevin addressed.

“Isn’t it obvious? I always wanted to be a merman when I was younger and now my childhood dreams are coming true. Now if only I could find a big, strong merman out here to spend the rest of my life with.” Nicky gazed out at the ocean wistfully. “But also... I have no idea.”

“It… Happened after we… Got off that weird island,” Aaron started slowly, his eyebrow furrowed in thought.

“There’s no islands around here,” Kevin deadpanned. He sputtered as Aaron splashed him in the face with his tail, glaring at him. A smug smile tugged at his lips. At least one good thing came out of this situation. And maybe not drowning too, he guessed...

“Well, there was.” Aaron began recounting the tale of how they were stranded at sea. Every few sentences, Nicky or Andrew would interrupt him with commentary:

_“Then Nicky came and had the bright idea to ask Andrew how far out we could go…”_

“Hey, meeean.”

“ _So we ended up stranded on some random fucking island because it ran out of fuel. We were walking for hours when Nicky fell in a hole, because of course he would_.”

“Aaron, why are you bullying  _me_? Andrew’s the one who threatened cannibalism.”

“I’m still considering it,” Andrew piped in. Nicky pointed at his cousin.

“See?” Aaron shushed both of them, rubbing his temples and continuing his recap. With each minute, Kevin’s face became more unreadable. He pursed his lips when Aaron finished.

“Okay. I.. Won’t tell,” he forced out. “But Nicky’s the one you have to worry about not keeping it a secret.”

It wasn’t a joke or a dig on Nicky, just the truth. He was simply a blabbermouth. Andrew and Aaron stared at their cousin before the latter spoke up. “Nicky… If you get us captured by mad scientists or something, I will kill you.”

“I won’t, I promise!” Nicky made a motion of zipping his lips.

 

**#**

 

Andrew was making hot cocoa in the kitchen two days later while Kevin complained behind him. He chose not to acknowledge his whining, opening the cabinet. Luckily, it was Sunday, so they didn’t have to worry about the matter of school yet. He pulled out a jug of milk, setting it down on the counter and getting his special mug.

“It’s too risky for you to go to the pool. Andrew, let me use your car.”

“No. But points for trying.” Andrew clapped his hands sarcastically. He filled his mug with milk before going to put it in the microwave. He stopped short, wanting to try an… Experiment. Did his powers only work on water? He cupped his hand around the mug, concentrating. He stopped as the milk began bubbling, now hot in his hands. Well,  _this was convenient_.

Kevin frowned, crossing his arms.

“Oh, come on. I need to practice with Neil and you usually take me there. It’s not my fault that you suddenly turn into a fish now when you hit water.”

“Hm. Why did I adopt such a fussy child?” Andrew murmured. Kevin made an offended noise. He poured the cocoa powder into the mug before beginning to stir it in with his spoon. He licked it off. “Why doesn’t the junkie have his own car?”

“Who? … Neil?” Andrew made a vague gesture with his hand.

“I don't know, he likes running.” Kevin looked baffled that he would even ask about Neil, which was fair. Andrew hummed, taking a sip from his drink. He leaned back against the counter, staring at Kevin until he finished draining all of it.

“I’ll take you.”

Kevin squinted at him. “... Okay. Setting aside how incredibly dangerous that is, what do you want in return? You’ll usually do anything to avoid watching me swim…”

“Peace of mind from your whining,” Andrew deflected without missing a beat.

 

**#**

 

Whether they swam in the ocean or in the school’s swimming pool depended on the current weather. Today, they were visiting the school pool. Kevin and Neil were given a key by their coach for self-volunteered extra practice, as long as they came during school hours. They didn’t abide by that rule and often had what they dubbed ‘night practice’.

Andrew trailed behind Kevin as he unlocked the door, pushing it open with a dull creak. The sound echoed throughout the dark room. It’d be too risky to turn the lights on at this hour, so they always swam under the glow of the moonlight. He could hear the distant sounds of splashes as they walked towards the pool, Kevin already starting to shed his clothes and set them aside.

A figure in the water came back to the surface. Neil pushed his hair away from his face, water cascading down his neck and into the pool. His eyes jumped from Kevin to Andrew before he shrank down in the water, like he was hiding. Andrew had never received this reaction from him before. He arched an eyebrow while Kevin dove into the water.

He surfaced, smiling like he was finally home. It was ironic, Kevin acted like he lived in the water; he should have been the one to become a merman. Neil looked away from Andrew as Kevin began his rant about the proper form to take. Andrew walked over to the bench, sitting down with his legs crossed and watching them between staring into space.

Josten looked frustratingly great as always and Andrew was incredibly  _gay_. He watched his back muscles, the way he continuously swept his hair away from his face, the way his thighs flexed when he climbed the ladder to get out. He had never seen Neil smile or laugh at school, but he seemed comfortable enough with Kevin.

“You don’t have to swim, you know,” Neil tried an indeterminable amount of time later, looking at him. "You can just float around. The water's not that bad."

Andrew just stared at him as he swam closer, his eyes glinting in the darkness. He was going to ignore his question when Neil swam into a patch of moonlight from the window, the light hitting his features perfectly and clearly. His heart lurched in his chest.

“Who did that to you?” Andrew questioned lowly, uncrossing his legs and standing up. Neil winced, sinking back into the water. He moved backwards, out of the light, but the blonde had already seen the bruise on his cheek. It looked pretty new.

“I’m fine, Andrew.” Andrew did not like to repeat himself.

“That’s not what I asked.” His eyes were glued to the spot on his face, his gaze intense. The bruise was right below Neil’s left eye. He wanted to inspect it, fresh anger in his chest as he went to get in the water. He placed his hand on the ledge of the pool.

“I’m _fine_.”

“Andrew!” Kevin called, swimming closer. There was caution in his voice and panic in his face. Andrew tried to ignore him, but he hissed his name again. “Andrew, you’ll get  _wet_.”

Andrew stopped, frozen before drawing his leg back. Neil sent Kevin a questioning look, his blue eyes darting between them. As much as he wanted to jump into the pool and demand who even  _thought_ of hurting Neil, he couldn’t let him know his ‘sea legs’ situation. He growled quietly in his throat, backing up. He clutched his hands into fists, his jaw clenching.

Neil watched him carefully, concealed in the darkness again before speaking. “He’ll get wet?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. Andrew… Doesn’t like being wet. Right, Andrew?” Kevin lied unconvincingly.

Neil looked at him with curiosity, his disbelief towards Kevin written on his face. Andrew stood still for a moment before reaching into his pocket, fingering a pack of cigarettes. He took it out, drawing out a single stick and looking for his lighter. “Kevin, a _word_.”

His tone left no room for argument, so Kevin sent a nervous look to Neil and nodded reluctantly. He ducked his head, swimming over to a ladder and climbing up.

“I’ll be right back,” he said quickly to Neil in French before following Andrew outside the door. He made sure not to leave the door handle wet, trailing after him until they were outside. Andrew lit his cigarette with shaking fingers, putting away his lighter. He brought it to his lips, taking a few drags before turning to Kevin. Smoke escaped his lips as he spoke, drifting into the air between them.

“You don’t seem surprised,” he said bluntly. Kevin blinked a few times, paling and averting his gaze. He had to have seen the bruise during their lessons, but chose to do and say nothing.

“It’s… It’s not the first time.” Andrew’s eyebrows raised slowly, taking another drag.

“This has happened before.” It wasn’t a question. Kevin closed his eyes, nodding again. He exhaled slowly.

“Who is it?” Kevin flinched, his green eyes opening to stare at him. His mouth opened, his lips moving wordlessly before closing.

“I… I don’t know for sure…” He started. “He doesn’t like when I ask about it.”

“Oh, Kevin, you know better than that. You know better than to try to stall with me,” Andrew sighed, fingering the sleeve of his armband. Kevin’s eyes darted to his fingers, visibly swallowing. He knew how sharp Andrew’s knives were. He wasn’t one to hesitate either.

“I have a hunch. Neil’s mom is… Weird. She doesn’t even know he’s on the swim team because he has to hide it from her. He keeps saying she’s ‘ _overprotective’_ of him. He never lets me come over his place. That’s all I know.” Kevin went to pull at his collar before remembering he didn’t have a shirt on.

“So Josten’s mommy is hitting him?” Andrew paraphrased, rotating his cigarette between his fingers distractedly. “Did she give him his scars too?”

“No, that’s from… Someone else. You have to ask him about the rest.” He was starting to suspect that Kevin knew more about Neil’s home situation than he let on. Not about who was hitting him, per se, but maybe the history of his scars... They’d always seemed relatively ‘close’ when they weren’t bickering about swimming or any other thing.

“Maybe I will.” Andrew snapped his cigarette in half, letting it fall from between his fingers. The shaking had since ceased, his anger contained for now. He most definitely would be interrogating Josten. He waved his hands towards the door. “Now, shoo, shoo. Back inside, we have to make sure he didn’t drown without your supervision.”

Kevin nodded jerkily, water still dripping from his hair. As Kevin pushed open the door, they saw Neil step away and lower his hand.

“I-I was just going to go look for you…” Neil said, trying to appear sheepish. He wasn’t pulling it off well enough to fool Andrew.

Andrew narrowed his eyes, but decided to berate him about trying to eavesdrop later. Judging by Neil’s thinly veiled frustration, he had just arrived. He walked past him, whispering. “Liar.”

He carefully avoided Kevin’s wet footsteps, going back to the pool room.

Neil followed after a few seconds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I normally never update consistently, but ideas... They came to me.
> 
> Shout out to my friend, who when I asked whether Kevin should break his arm or leg, suggested I break his neck.


	3. Mermaid For Each Other

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter three, in which there's more screaming and a different kind of falling.  
> Andrew has 99 problems and Neil is the main one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve never gotten far in a multi-chapter fic before, so I’m oddly motivated for this one.  
> Chapter two of my Heathers AU, though, has 6,000 words at the moment.

Abby woke up at 2 am, groggy and with tattooed arms coiled around her waist. She rubbed her eyes, giving a yawn before tugging at the arm. “David, let me up.”

Wymack grumbled to himself but released her. She rolled out of bed, pulling on her robe and patting down her unruly brown hair. She padded to the kitchen over carpeted floor, shivering when her feet touched the chilly tile of the kitchen. Abby grabbed a glass, filling it with filtered water from the refrigerator and taking small sips. Flipping off the lights again, she saw movement in her peripheral.

Abby stiffened, spotting a dark figure in the living room. She hoped she was imagining things, slowly turning on her heel. It couldn’t have been Kevin, he was snoring softly in his own bedroom.

She shrieked, it was _not_ her imagination. The hooded figure was rummaging around in the room, wearing all black. She clutched her shirt over her heart, closing her eyes and taking few deep breaths before looking up again.

“ _Damn it_ , _Andrew_.”

She was normally the one who scolded them about language, but Christ, he had scared the _hell_ out of her. Andrew was now standing in front of her, looking up at her blankly. There was a silver laptop under his underarm, which she recognized as Kevin’s. “Why do you have Kevin’s laptop?”

“Oh, you know,” Andrew said vaguely, waving his hand. There was the sound of a scuffle as Wymack raced down the hall, weapon in hand and looking for danger. The blond saluted at him before spinning to go find his booze supply. “Hi, coach.”

“Damn it, Minyard! I told you to stop breaking into my damn house,” Coach grouched, lowering the baseball bat. Andrew was the entire reason why he got rid of his gun. He placed his hand on his hip, shaking his head. “One of these days... Why the hell do you have my son’s laptop?”

“It’s called borrowing. You taught Kevin to share, yes?” Success. Andrew grabbed a bottle of vodka, stuffing it into the pocket in his hoodie. He brandished his keys, swinging them around his finger as he started for the door.

“You better bring it back in the morning, Minyard.” Wymack knew there was no telling Andrew to march back down the hall and put it back on Kevin’s desk. Trying to control Andrew was the worst mistake you could make. He bristled before turning to his wife, who was giggling softly. “What are you laughing about?”

Abby shook her head, smiling and taking another sip of her water. “Just thinking… Kevin could really sleep through an earthquake.”

There was no denying that piece of truth. He grabbed his bat again, heading back to bed after re-locking the door. He was almost sure that Andrew knew how to pick locks…

 

**#**

 

The twin himself got back into his car, tearing out of the driveway with Kevin’s laptop in the passenger’s seat. Andrew spent the next few hours on the couch, cocooned in a cozy blanket and researching Neil Josten. He drank straight from the bottle, scrolling through articles. The details were incredibly scarce and vague, like he hadn’t existed until recently. The more he searched, the more of a mystery Neil seemed.

Andrew had already thought something was off with Neil, but he didn’t catch his interest enough for him to investigate. There was a kid at school with burns all over his body who he didn’t even care to learn more about.

He had noticed how odd Neil was.

He would only remove his shirt around Kevin. Any other time, Andrew would see him in a rashguard or loose t-shirt. He wasn’t at all confident about his body, avoiding his reflection and never glancing at mirrors. The first time Andrew had met Neil was when Kevin dragged him to an afterschool practice. Neil was already in the water and shirtless, flight-or-fight written all over his face when Andrew’s hazel eyes swept over him. He sank down in the water, much like yesterday and evaded his gaze.

Andrew just stared at his face and brought a cigarette to his mouth, commenting monotonously, “That’s a lot of ouchies.”

He sat down on the bench and continued to smoke, already bored with him. Neil had blinked in uncertainty and looked to Kevin, who shook his head and just introduced them. The next time they took a dip, Neil looked to him before hesitantly removing his shirt. He gradually relaxed during practices when Andrew didn’t make a fuss about his scars.

They were from knives, as far as Andrew could tell. He had a burn on one shoulder and a puckered wound on the other side. One of his cheeks was sliced up and the other was burned. Neil always looked ashamed of them, but none of his marks took away from his attractiveness. Andrew hated that Neil’s shame annoyed him.

He wanted to shove it through Neil Josten’s thick fucking head that he _wasn’t fucking ugly_.

Andrew shelved away Kevin’s laptop for now, curling up on the couch. He wrapped himself in his blanket, sleeping with his back to the cushions. He guessed he’d have to question Neil about it.

 

**#**

 

On Monday, Aaron prepared to go to school. He had a chemistry test today, he couldn’t afford to miss it or get low grades. He was trying to get into medical school. He packed a small towel in his book bag and stole Nicky’s hair dryer for precautionary measures. If anyone asked him about it, he would say he was carrying it around for Katelyn. If they asked why a girl needed a hairdryer at school, then, well…

He had no answer for that.

Aaron had learned that his body would go through a lot of changes in his teenage years and yadda yadda, but **this** isn’t what he expected. He was constantly thirsty, craving seafood, took long baths and yearned to go for a swim. He didn’t even _like_ swimming.

If he started breaking into song, he was going to scream.

“What took you so long?” Aaron grumbled once they were on the road to school. Kevin chewed his lip, buckling his seatbelt because safety was important. It took him eight minutes to come out of his house, which was unsettling. Punctuality was a _big deal_ to him.

“I couldn’t find my laptop.”

Andrew braked his car without a warning, reaching down to the floor and pulling Kevin’s laptop out of his own book bag. Kevin’s mouth clamped shut as he glared at it and then Andrew. He carefully took it from him as the blonde unwrapped another lollipop, popping it in his mouth. He had a stash in his bag, just because he knew Kevin hated it. “ _You_ took it.”

“Why didn’t you just borrow Nicky’s?” Aaron asked. Andrew met his eyes in the mirror while Kevin just paused and looked at him incredulously. After a short silence, realization surfaced on his face and he had answered his own question. He wrinkled his nose. “ _Oh_.”

Nicky did not know how to clear his search history, like a decent huma— merma—… Merbeing? During his first year of living with Nicky Hemmick, Andrew had discovered that:

  1. He and Nicky had a _very_ different taste in porn.
  2. He never wanted to learn fact 1.



Having an eidetic memory made the experience much worse.

 

**#**

 

Nicky **absolutely** ** _loved_** swimming in the ocean.

He had never liked the outside, but he had to change his mind about the sea. It was calm and relaxing, miles away from shore and so, so quiet. He’d never gone out so far before. He’d passed numerous fish of amazing colors and marveled at the sealife he found. The reefs were so beautiful.

He couldn’t believe that humans had perpetuated such a myth about the dangers of the ocean when it was so peaceful. The crabs were a bit aggressive and one tried to snip his finger off, but he didn’t take it personally. They reminded him a bit of Aaron and Andrew: _small, feisty and cute_.

He’d nearly had a heart attack the first time a shark swam past him, but they actually didn’t pay him any mind.

It turned out that he, in fact, _could_ breathe underwater and had perfect vision. Kevin had to be insanely jealous of him and the twins. This feeling was intoxicating, bubbles exhaling from his lips. Everything was blue, blue, blue.

Nicky had lain down on the soft sand, watching the waves reflect and roll on the floor. It was addictive and soon he had found himself falling asleep. The sounds around him were like a lullaby. He worked two jobs at night, so he deserved a magical nap on the ocean floor.

A cloud of darkness passed overhead, startling Nicky into consciousness again. He blinked out of his sleep, believing he was still dreaming before reality settled in again. A boat had passed over him. He stretched out, yawning before pushing off of the sand. He bypassed a school of fish, swimming to catch up with the boat.

Against his better judgement, curiosity took over and he poked his head out of the water. There were two, maybe three guys on the boat. He ducked back under, assuming they were here to fish. They were plentiful in this area. Nicky went back to exploring the ocean, picking up seashells and seaweed tickling his skin.

He wondered what time it was. Andrew and Aaron should be getting out of school pretty soon, so he’d start swimming back. He twirled around, about to head back when he let out a scream that was muffled underwater.

He was face-to-face with a scuba diver, whose blue eyes were just as wide as his. He had a mouthpiece in, so he didn’t scream. He looked down at Nicky’s tail and back to his face, shock written all over his.

Nicky wasn’t supposed to let anyone see him. His heart was beating a mile a minute, but the anxiety didn’t pull him under like usual.

He never believed in love at first sight, but the first word to fly through his mind was ‘perfect’. His dream guy was someone who likes the outdoors, who Nicky knew his hands wouldn’t just slip off of. This man met his criteria, with a strong-looking body, all hard edges, a handsome face, and a kind expression.

Nicky’s cheeks burned from a belated flush.

The blond diver still looked stunned, but lifted a hand and waved at him. Nicky hesitantly smiled, waving back before a dull splash jerked him out of his thoughts. One of the other divers had just jumped into the water. Nicky shook his thoughts away before taking off, swimming away from Mr. Perfect as fast as he could.

( This wasn’t a fairy tale, but he wouldn’t mind giving up his voice for him. )

 

**#**

 

“Neil and I want to go to the mall. His swimming trunks are almost in threads at this point.” Kevin side eyed Neil, who didn’t acknowledge his dig. The blonde had indeed noticed Neil’s deteriorating swimsuit.

“And what makes you think I’ll take you wherever you want?” Andrew questioned, just to be difficult. He wasn’t his personal chauffeur. Kevin pursed his lips while Neil shifted on his feet. He lifted his head, meeting Andrew’s eyes and speaking to him for the first time outside of practice.

“What do you want in return?” Kevin’s eyes widened, shaking his head. He and Andrew were the ones who made deals, what was he doing? Andrew tilted his head, pretending to think.

“I want to ask you a question.” Neil went rigid before nodding.

“Okay. Ask.”

“Not here.” Andrew turned, circling around the car to get in the driver’s seat. He could hear Kevin’s ‘what the hell?’ before he climbed into the passenger seat and Neil opened the door to the back. He slid in beside Aaron, moving close to the door. Andrew tore out of the school parking lot, dropping Aaron off. He wanted to study in peace instead of watching them fuss over 'water pants', which Kevin took immediate offense to.

Once at the mall, Kevin led them inside and immediately bee-lined for a sporting goods store. Andrew kept his distance from a water fountain they skirted around. Since they lived on the coast, Myrtle Beach was a popular vacation spot and had a variety of stores full of flashy swimwear. Kevin claimed all of their products were cheap and unprofessional, not fit for serious athletes.

Nag, nag.

When Neil tried to step after Kevin into the store, Andrew snagged the back of his shirt and tugged him back. He stopped and followed Andrew after one more glimpse at Kevin, who grimaced at them but didn’t dare protest. He was led to a food stand, since Andrew never let Kevin out of his sight. He waited as Andrew bought a cinnamon-covered soft pretzel and lead him to a bench before speaking.

“We’re going to play a truth game, you and I. I ask a question, you ask a question. Get it?” Neil nodded slowly as he tore his pretzel into pieces. He swallowed a bite, watching Kevin inspect a new brand of goggles. “Who hit you?”

Neil didn’t look surprised by his query. He looked down at the bench and traced a shape into his rugged jeans, quiet for a minute. “Just a kid at school.”

“We’re going to have a problem if you lie to me again, Josten.” Neil looked up, staring at him and scowling. Andrew stared back. A full minute ticked by before he exhaled lowly.

“My mom…” So Kevin was correct. The ever-present flame of anger flared in his chest again before Andrew forced it down. He held up two fingers.

“You get two truths on credit. I’ve seen your scars.” He gestured to them lazily before eating another piece of pretzel. Neil frowned in thought, considering what he wanted to ask. Andrew saw him glance toward the water fountain before speaking.

“… What are those for?” He pointed at Andrew’s armbands. Andrew pulled one of his knives out of its sheath and twirled it in his hand. Neil watched him slip it back in his band before asking his second question. “Why don’t you like swimming?”

Andrew scoffed. Of course this junkie would ask about swimming. “I just don’t find it interesting or fun like you or Kevin. Why did your mother think she had the right to hit you?”

Neil flinched at the words before gathering himself again, schooling his expression into something neutral. He looked back to where Kevin was. “... She doesn’t like when I go places without telling her.”

“Does she know you’re here right now?” Andrew asked conversationally, like he was just asking about the weather.

Neil’s lips quirked upwards for a second. “No.”

Fuck. Fuck, Andrew hated that his heart stuttered at that brief smile directed at _him_.

This was shaping up to be a problem, a huge problem. _It was_ just _physical attraction_.

He reached out slowly, giving Neil enough time to jerk away if he wanted. Blue eyes latched onto his hand as he placed his hand against his cheek, thumbing at the fading bruise.

“We’ll continue this game later,” Andrew spoke, breaking the silence. He drew his hand back, watching Neil’s eyes flutter closed for a moment before he nodded. He stood up, shoving down any emotions and tossing the remainder of his pretzel to Neil. He caught it, blinking in surprise and raising an eyebrow at Andrew.

He was already halfway back to the store.

Kevin squinted at him when he approached, a pile of clothes in his arms. His voice was a whisper as he hissed, “You _never_ share your food with anyone. Not ever.”

Andrew flicked his hand at him, warning him, “Mind your business, Day.”

Kevin huffed at him, but grabbed Neil’s arm, dragging him to the dressing room. Andrew saw the way Neil briefly looked over his shoulder at him, absentmindedly licking cinnamon off of his lips.

This was a problem…

But if his mother **ever** laid a hand on him again, there was going to be an even _bigger_ problem.

 

**#**

 

“I’m telling you, Aaron, it’s so beautiful! You and I need to go swimming sometime. It’s so fun, you’ll love it!” Nicky had stars in his eyes. He had found a new passion for the ocean. He was practically bouncing in his seat as he relayed his adventures underwater, excluding the run-in with that handsome diver. His future husband, if you will.

They were at the Foxhole. It was a local coffee shop that they often visited. The staff mainly consisted of people Aaron recognized from school.

“It’s not fun, Nicky. It’s a fucking curse. Nearly everything has water in it. Sweat has water in it. Lotion has water in it. We can’t moisturize anymore.”

"I really doubt someone's gonna _sweat_ on us."

The school day had gone by rather uneventfully, but someone had asked why Aaron was drinking so much water suddenly. Aaron took an angry sip from his frappuccino, pointing at Nicky’s drink. “We even have to be careful touching the outside of our drinks. Condensation is a thing. Also, use your straw.”

Nicky rolled his eyes, waving his hand dismissively. “Relax, I’m not going to spill my drink or anythi—”

His hand smacked his cup, sending it toppling over. The frappe poured over the table, nearly spilling into Nicky’s lap. Aaron stiffened, throwing his hand out. He wasn’t sure exactly what he planned to do, but he acted quickly. The liquid turned to _ice_ , frozen solid over the table.

“... Oops.”

Aaron pulled his hand back, staring at it in shock. Did… Did _he_ just do that? Nicky stared down at the table in amazement, a grin growing. Aaron clapped his hand over his cousin’s mouth before he could start freaking out about it, standing up abruptly. He drew his hand back, stuffing his books back into his book bag, zipping it up and slinging it over his shoulder in record timing.

“Let’s go.” He wrapped his cup in a wall of napkins. Studying would have to wait for later.

“But I paid for that drink,” Nicky mumbled sadly, getting up. Aaron grabbed him by his wrist, starting for the door.

“I’ll buy you another one!”

( Inside, Matt saw someone had made a spill and sighed, picking up a rag. He went over to clean up the mess when he noticed it was completely solid. He paused, poking at the ice and calling over his shoulder.

“Dan?”

“Yes?”

Soon, the entire staff was standing around the table, clueless looks on their faces.

“... How the hell?” )

Luckily, the Foxhole wasn’t too far from their house, so they could walk home. Aaron brought Nicky another drink like he had promised on their way back, shutting him up for a few minutes as he sipped happily. He pulled out his keys once to unlock their front door.

“Aaron, you have ice powers! That’s so badass. You and Andrew are lucky!”

“Lower your voice!” Aaron hissed, looking around. They didn’t live in an apartment, but they did have neighbors. Nicky glanced around before whispering.

“You can’t deny how awesome that is!”

Once inside the house, Nicky sprinted to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator.

“Try to freeze something!” He suggested enthusiastically. He pulled out a jug of juice and found a cup. He filled it before grabbing a plastic fork and sticking it inside, using it as a makeshift popsicle stick. “Here!”

“We have a fridge,” Aaron protested. He sighed when Nicky just pushed it towards him again, insisting. He was maybe a little curious about his newfound powers. He looked at his hand before reluctantly holding it out and concentrating.

The juice froze in seconds. A strange jolt went through Aaron as he looked at what he did.

“Whoa!” Nicky pulled the popsicle out of the cup, holding it up to display. “I swear, we have to make booze popsicles one day. I’ve seen some things online I want to try, but they’d take too long, you know?”

“I didn’t ask for anything like this to happen,” Aaron objected, circling around their kitchen island. He put the juice back in the refrigerator, shutting the door hard and crossing his arms over his chest. “All I want is a normal life, but these things keep happening to me. I can’t drink water without a straw or I’ll turn into a fish. I’m going to have to tell Katelyn I can’t go to her _pool party_. Now I have _another_ problem to deal with.”

Nicky’s smile dimmed, almost strained as he stared down at the popsicle in his hands. He licked his lips before setting it back in the cup.

“I thought it’d be so cool to share something like this with my cousins. Do you know how special this makes us? Most people can only dream about this happening to them, you know? And yet...” Aaron’s anger dissipated as he turned away from the fridge, looking at his cousin. Nicky looked up, laughing it off and shaking his head. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes anymore as his cheerful tone came back. “I wish I had a cool power.”

Aaron opened and closed his mouth before sighing. “Look, Nicky. I’m just stressed out because this is new and I don’t know how to deal with it yet. I don’t mean to be a-a dick or anything. I guess having weird powers doesn’t suck… Completely.”

Nicky’s eyes widened, momentarily stunned before his beam came back full force. He could cry every time he saw any progress between him and the twins. He was close to tears, actually. Seeing that Aaron was trying meant so much.

He reached over, ruffling Aaron’s hair. “See? I knew you’d come around. We’re amazing! The coolest kids on the block.”

“Kids? You’re like 30.” Nicky gasped.

“Rude! I’m only three years older than you two!”

Aaron rolled his eyes, hiding a smile as Nicky buzzed around the kitchen, finding new things for him to freeze.

By the time Andrew came home, they had an assortment of popsicles spread all over the kitchen counters, of different juices and mixtures. They even decided to shake things up by adding fruit. Aaron handed Andrew a popsicle with gummy bears frozen inside of it, custom made. His brother didn’t look through him for once as he accepted it.

Aaron had to admit, as he watched Nicky dance around the kitchen.

Maybe this curse was a _little_ fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Erik is here! :^)
> 
> Don't worry, Nicky, you'll get your powers soon.  
> His are the most awesome, in my opinion.
> 
> I will edit this chapter soon, I just wanted to post it already.

**Author's Note:**

> The Shamwow thing is so stupid but I keep laughing at it.
> 
> Tumblr: Foxhole-Pipe-Dream


End file.
